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CU-Boulder economist forecasts continued job growth in Colorado for 2013

By Alicia Wallace, Camera Business Writer

Posted:
07/16/2013 10:47:04 AM MDT

Updated:
07/16/2013 04:58:53 PM MDT

Richard Wobbekind
(
Jonathan Castner
)

Halfway into 2013, Colorado's economic growth rate not only is outpacing expectations but also is projected to improve through the latter part of the year, University of Colorado economist Richard Wobbekind said today.

Job growth in the state is up 2.3 percent, and that rate is expected to climb to 2.5 percent, according to Wobbekind's mid-year forecast.

Every industry, except for mining and information, has posted employment gains from last year. From January to May, the state added 58,700 jobs as compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the report.

“The performance of the Colorado economy has modestly exceeded our December 2012 forecast,” Wobbekind, executive director of CU's Business Research Division and senior associate dean for academic programs at the Leeds School of Business, said in a statement. “Obviously, we are pleased with the higher level of job growth and are hopeful it will continue throughout the remainder of 2013.”

In the December forecast, job growth was projected at 1.8 percent.

Leading the charge in Colorado's employment growth are construction, professional and business services, and leisure in hospitality.

Construction activity has picked up across the residential, multifamily and non-residential segments, Wobbekind said. The values of single-family residential and multifamily construction are up 41 percent and 72 percent, respectively.

Wobbekind and CU researchers expressed some uncertainty about the state's agriculture industry and how it may fare amid lacking moisture.

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Roughly 60 percent of pasture and range acreage are in poor to very poor condition, according to the report.

“We had anticipated an extremely strong year for Colorado agriculture,” Wobbekind said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the lack of precipitation in a timely fashion will significantly impact this year's production. Still, agriculture remains an extremely important part of the Colorado economy.”

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